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Valentines’ Day

Thanks to the Discovery and History Channels, I’m pretty much obsessed with finding out the origin and history of things. So I thought, Why not write a post about the origins of St. Valentine’s Day? It turns out that the history of Valentine’s Day is abstruse and is made more confusing by the various legends surrounding its origins.

Some authors claim that the holiday’s roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility commemoration celebrated annually on February 15. The pagan festival of Lupercalia is one of the oldest holidays, and perhaps that is why some of the details of its rituals have been lost. It is said a goat was sacrificed and the hide of the animal was cut into strips, which were later used as whips. Young men would strip naked or wear elaborate masks (made from goats’ heads) and run around whipping young women.

The ritual was to ensure fertility. Striking the women may have represented penetration. The symbolic penetration, broken skin, made by a piece of a fertility symbol (the goat), was apparently thought to be effective. Each man would also draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year. Pope Gelasius I re-formed this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine’s Day.

There were three St. Valentines mentioned by the martyrologies of the Roman Catholic Church, and it’s not clear which one the day is honoring.

According to legend, one of the Valentine martyrs was beheaded on February 14th for secretly performing illegal Christian marriages for soldiers. Supposedly, the Roman Emperor Claudius II forbade this in order to expand his army, believing that married men did not make good soldiers.

St. Valentine theoretically wore a purple amethyst ring, which was customary for Christian bishops, with an image of Cupid engraved in it, a recognizable symbol associated with love that was legal under the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and ask him to perform the marriage ceremony for them. Possibly because of the connection with St. Valentine, amethyst has become the birthstone of February, and it is thought to attract love.

Legend states that St. Valentine cut hearts from parchments and gave them to the soldiers to remind them of their vows and God’s love, a possible source of the common use of hearts on St. Valentine’s Day.

Also according to legend, St. Valentine miraculously cured his jailer’s daughter, Julia, of blindness. On the evening before Valentine was beheaded, he wrote Julia the very first ‘Valentine’ card himself, signing it ‘your Valentine’. Hence, modern Valentine letters later adopted the expression ‘From your Valentine’. I don’t know about you, but I feel there’s a passionate romance story in there somewhere. Anyway, that’s what I’ve pieced together as the history/legend of Valentine’s Day.

Here are some interesting facts regarding Valentine’s Day:

* A recent poll found that 1 in 10 young adults admitted to feeling lonely, insecure, depressed, or unwanted on Valentine’s Day.

* 40% of people have negative feelings toward Valentine’s Day.

* Penicillin, a popular treatment for venereal diseases such as syphilis, was introduced to the world on February 14, 1929.

* The phrase ‘sweets for the sweet’ is a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Do you have negative feelings about Valentine’s Day? How do you feel about the Holiday?

48 Responses to “The Mysterious Origins Of Valentine’s Day”

Hello Vashti, I learned a lot about Valentine’s Day from your wonderful article. I agree with you that there is a romantic story connected to the jailer’s daughter. Your article and overall presentation is very nice.

Great background knowledge Vashti. Like Christmas, Easter etc. it has become another commercial holiday which is sad. But upon saying that it is fun to celebrate the spirit of love. I do agree though that for many who are alone it can be a disheartening experience watching couples celebrating together, a reminder of what they do not have.

Really enjoyed the article, Vashti, fascinating to read the historical origins and then think about how we celebrate it today.
I like how you keep your blog fresh covering lots of varied topics. PS Great photos!

Loving your educational articles Vashti. 🙂 I don’t like all the pressure Valentines puts on couples. It seems a bit too showy and too commercial. I also think couples should try to be romantic all year round and not just on the 14th. Sure if you are in a relationship, share some wine and celebrate your love privately if that’s what you want to do. That’s cool. But seeing all these couples crammed into a busy restaurant just because it is the 14th is a bit bizarre. I had a boyfriend who went nuts at valentines, it was all for show. He would send me flowers, teddies, chocolates…I guess some gals love all that attention but for me personally it got a bit overwhelming. Gentlemen, treat your ladies well all year round and use your imagination. 🙂

Thank you Alana! 😀 I agree, there’s a lot of pressure on couples and singles as well. You’re also right about it all being for show. Why not demonstrate your love to your spouse or friend throughout the year?

I am always interested in how some of these holidays had their origins. No need to throw the day out because we celebrate a bit differently. Valentines Day is a good day to let my husband know that I love him (again) and that I am thankful to be married to him. Thanks, Vashti.

What a great bunch of tidbits, Vashti! I am personally not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day, and oddly feel most of those things with the holiday. I think partly due to my birthday being the following week, which creates its own set of issues! LOL! We don’t really do a whole lot for it, this year I think the plan is to go and grab some Arby’s and call it a night! Thanks for linking up with This Momma’s Meandering Mondays! Hope you have an amazing week!

I know what you mean Stacey. The holidays are beginning to lose their appeal to me too. They’ve become too commercialized. It was a pleasure as usual to link up with you at ‘Meandering Mondays’. You have a fantastic week too!

Great post, very interesting, not many people talk about the origins of Valentine’s. I’m currently single, but have no negative feelings towards it, I just look at it as an excuse to eat chocolate, even if I buy it myself! 😀

This was a very interesting read! So many things come from “pagan” and Catholicism. We honestly don’t make a big deal of Valentine’s Day, probably for no particular reason. As my kids get older I will most likely have a study on its origins and we will leave it at that. Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Countdown in Style! Don’t forget to stop by Friday to see if you are featured! xo

I am so glad we don’t celebrate Valentine’s that way! I don’t know how I feel about Valentine’s, we don’t do much with it, but when we go out the night before and I see men buying flowers for their lady I get a little sad even though I am married. I say that, but it the holiday doesn’t mean much to me; so I guess I am torn. Ha!

I think a lot of people feel the way you do. The holiday has become so commercialized that it has lost it’s true value. What you probably long for is for your hubby to be a little more romantic. Don’t we all! 😉

I enjoy Vday to a point. I love the celebration of love ~ all love. I especially like having my son as my valentine! Thank you for linking up and sharing with Countdown in Style. Please come back on Friday to see if you were featured.

I love Valentine’s Day now, but admittedly struggled with it as a tween/teen. Those years are so full of insecurities as it is so years when I did not have a BF were a little sad. Looking back, I really wish I would have focused more on my wonderful friendships at that time of year.

This was a well put together piece and I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for sharing! And now my husband and I are off to Disneyland to celebrate this year’s Valentine’s Day together!! 😀

Hi Holly! I’m sorry to hear (read) about your sad times as a tween/teen. I was pretty insecure then too. Flash-forward to the present and you’re one luck lady! Woo-hoo! Valentine’s Day at Disneyland with your loved one–that’s awesome! Have a great time! 😀

People do get depressed around holidays….Valentine’s (“Everyone else is in love and has someone special”), Christmas (“Everyone else is having a Norman Rockwell Christmas and I’m not”), etc. A therapist friend of mine once said, “Don’t compare your insides with someone else’s outsides”. See poem Richard Cory.

Good read! I will share this with my family. This is yet another Pagan Holiday that has become out of control. It’s amazing how many people celebrate the vasts of these holidays without knowing the history behind it. The majority tends to just go with what they have been accustom to. Above all, we should be loving and giving all year around, not when society tells us to (its all marketing). Thank you!

Yes, I’ve read and heard many stories about the origin of Valentine’s Day – all very interesting, regardless, I hope yours was nice.. Thank you for sharing and linking up with us at the #WWDParty. Have a great week.

wonderful! this brought back good memories as the very first article i wrote for the little newspaper i worked for was on the origins of valentines day, and then i had to go out as sell all the advertising space to local restaurants, florisits, sweet shops, etc. that was very scary!